Another project I made out of my sister-in-law’s wedding dress lace & a pillowcase… is A LACE SKIRT. This is the ultimate up cycle project – it was totally free. Do you think the Duchess of Cambridge will ever re-use the lace from her wedding dress for anything? (After it is off of display of course).
One cold spring night in MN, I decided to bite the bullet & I tore all the lace off of this dress to save for future projects. I thought I was done with lace for awhile, but I was inspired by a few lace skirts I've seen here, here & here that are fun & Expen$ive!
I cut off the hem/opening of the pillow case & opened up the seams. I left the bottom of the pillow case seam intact (this is now one of the side seams). I cut the pillowcase to be my hip measurement +2.5” (for ease & seam allowance). The length was good as is at 16’’. I made a small double turn hem along the one edge & merrowed/serged the top edge where the waistband will be.
Then I cut may lace the length of the pillow case (err… skirt lining) & stitched it on. I let the scalloped edge hang below the skirt hem about 1.5”. I stitched it on straight along the top of the lace, meaning I did not follow the top scallop shape for my sewing line. I trimmed off the top edge of the scallop & repeated 5 times.
Each time I made sure the bottom of the scalloped lace edge covered the stitching of the lace layer below it by about ½ an inch. 
I then basted the edges of the lace down at the sides. I try not to pin much when I sew, basting is just faster. This way when I sewed the side seam, I made sure I caught all the lace edges.
For the waist band I used a 4x2 rib fabric that I had on hand. It was not my first choice, but it was what I had. The waistband was 4” x hip measurement. I sewed this in the a circle, folded in half lengthwise.
I then quartered it (fold it in half & in half again & mark it with a pin). I did the same with the skirt (making sure a seam was one of the points). Then I pinned the waist band rib & lace skirt together (right sides together) matching up the points I have marked. I then sewed on the rib, stretching it slightly.
I left a 2” opening & fed elastic thru the waist band (using a large safety pin). I secured the elastic ends together (stitching them in place 2 times) and closed up the hole. This sounds more complicated than it really is, I should have taken more photos of this… next time.
Forgive… these photos were taken on a brisk 42 degree day in MN. I was freezing – so no smile. FYI – I realized I could never be a swim suit model…I can’t stand to be scantily clothes in cold weather. Yes, that is the sole reason why I will never be a swim suit model – the weather. HA HA.
I really dig this skirt & how it dresses up a casual cardi nicely – I hope to wear it a lot when the weather warms up!
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